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2. who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.
    who bore witness
    a) to the WORD of GOD and
This phrase is used so often...he is emphasizing that the book of Revelation is part of the Word of God. The "Word of God" even carries a prophetic tinge to it. Samuel, a prophet, told Saul to send his servant on ahead so that he might dish out the Word of God directly to him, Saul - 1 Samuel 9:27. In the same vein, John, too, stands us up alone (Revelation 19:10) and says, "Here comes the Word of God." This is serious stuff.....because in the next verse, we are to "heed" these words. Compare other instances of the use of 'the Word of God' and 'word of their testimony' of God:
    b) to the testimony of Jesus Christ,
There is no doubt about it. This Revelation is a continuation of John's testimony of Jesus Christ. First, he closes his gospel, John 21:24-25, with his bearing witness to the things Jesus Christ did. He continues in the beginning of his first letter to proclaim what he has seen and heard - 1 John 1:1-4. And culminates his closeness to Jesus Christ with the Revelation of Jesus, Revelation 22:16.
    c) to all things that he saw.
John didn't leave anything out this time. He recorded everything meticulously, for us to read, hear, and heed. This is not a novel or science fiction book; it is what John actually saw (and heard) as he was transported divinely back to the future.
 "Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

References to the Revelation of Jesus Christ are in bold italics. All other references are in bold only. Return from cross-references by using the BACK button.